When The Scientist Presents

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009 not so expert audience with distracting laptops May 23, 2009

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Most conference proceedings now come in CD or DVD format instead of paper. How does that change the behaviour of the audience? Presenters often assume that the audience they are facing is made up of experts in their field. Is that assumption valid? What can we assume our audience really knows? Should what earlier presenters … Continue reading "009 not so expert audience with distracting laptops"

Pan through images with Keynote May 19, 2009

Show notes

Pan through an image using Apple’s Keynote (video) With this technique the presenter moves seamlessly and precisely inside a document larger than a slide by imitating a camera panning through the document, as if the hand moved a transparency across an overhead projector (Keynote pixel-based offset technique)

Two questioners raise their hand – who you’re gonna choose? May 13, 2009

Show notes

By Jean-luc Lebrun Your formal presentation is over. You are now taking questions from the audience. Two people raise their hand at the same time. Who are you going to choose? Is it the woman – if the two people are a man and a woman? Is it the senior person – if one is … Continue reading "Two questioners raise their hand – who you’re gonna choose?"

008 Presenter Mistakes May 08, 2009

Show notes

Dr Sinclair and Dr Curry share their favourite presenter “crimes” against the audience, and in the process, article one and article two of the universal rights of scientific audiences are drafted.

Scaling a group image+ text – PowerPoint & Keynote Apr 25, 2009

Show notes

Scaling objects in PowerPoint and Keynote (video) To resize a group that includes image and text, the group must first be converted to an image; alternatively, the group can be ungrouped and text can be be resized separately from the image.It is possible to reduce the decrease in legibility associated with vertical or horizontal downsizing … Continue reading "Scaling a group image+ text – PowerPoint & Keynote"

007 Dealing with Accent Apr 25, 2009

Show notes

Do British or american scientist-presenters have the advantage over people for whom English is the second language (ESL)? How does one reduce the impact of one’s accent? How can native English speakers make things difficult for the rest of us not born with English DNA :)?

Learning from Peter Feibelman Apr 24, 2009

Show notes

In his marvellous little book, “A Ph.D. Is Not Enough”, solid state physicist Professor Feibelman uses a metaphor near and dear to my heart, that of the fugue. “But in giving your talk, you should just tell a story. Its structure should be organic, invisible. Your listeners should be propelled from idea to idea with the … Continue reading "Learning from Peter Feibelman"

What can the scientist who presents learn from Pascal (Part 4) Apr 19, 2009

Show notes

Blaise Pascal, the scientist philosopher, has good advice immediately applicable during a Q&A when faced with a questioner who disagrees with the presenter. (Thought 9) When one wishes to correct to one’s advantage, and reveal how mistaken someone is, one must observe from which angle that person is looking at things, because, usually, from that … Continue reading "What can the scientist who presents learn from Pascal (Part 4)"

Visible map and invisible shortcuts – navigation tools Apr 13, 2009

Show notes

Map slide video “Keep to time” is good advice, but how? Since slide contents are the greatest time-consuming factor, it makes sense to adjust them until the presenter no longer faces the approaching wall of time with the fear of crashing into it. However, despite the best of intentions and preventive content pruning, the unexpected … Continue reading "Visible map and invisible shortcuts – navigation tools"

006 Presenting Limitations of Research at conference Talk Apr 12, 2009

Show notes

Should one present research limitations during the ten minutes of a scientific talk at a conference? Would one be breaching academic honesty and integrity if one did not present them? What has this topic got to do with how well the Q&A goes after the talk? Find out from our cast of profs, Dr. Sinclair … Continue reading "006 Presenting Limitations of Research at conference Talk"

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